The night was black as ink, and the mountain forests at the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest lay steeped in a cold, gloomy silence.
"Humans? Halt!"
Xiong Jun's heavy paws crushed the rotting leaves carpeting the ground. His dark gold fur gleamed coldly beneath the dim moonlight, his savage strength poised to erupt.
The instant he stepped into the middle of the gorge, the surrounding woods abruptly went still.
Whoosh-
Yi Hongchen was the first to unleash his power. A vast illusion domain of jade and burnished gold spread out in an instant, sealing both escape routes through the gorge like an enormous invisible net. Its mental fluctuations clamped down hard on Xiong Jun's perception.
Xiong Jun jerked his head up, his scarlet beast pupils contracting sharply. His deep roar sent loose stones rattling down.
The next instant, Wang Hongchen leaped down from the cliff on the right. The Blazing Golden Toad's crimson-gold soul power erupted, carrying metallic force that corroded sinew and bone, blocking Xiong Jun's path of escape to the right.
High on either side, Leng Yaozhu's blazing Heavenly Phoenix flames and Leng Yulai's chilling Dark Phoenix black flames flanked him, their eyes fixed firmly on Xiong Jun.
Li Mengjie's curse seals detonated in an instant. Wisps of gray-black curse power coiled around Xiong Jun's enormous body, slowly wearing away his tremendous soul power.
The earth shuddered violently as Yuanen Zhentian and Yuanen Tiandang landed together. The heavy earth soul power of their Titan bloodline rooted itself in soil and stone, sealing off Xiong Jun's route straight ahead. Purgatory-black energy churned around Qiangu Qingfeng, his killing intent heavy as he guarded the rear.
Qian Chenyue hovered in midair amid the gray-white evil power of her Fallen Angel, ready to strike and hold him in check at any moment. Yu Mengxian stood quietly outside the formation, sacred soul power circulating slowly, ready to support the others at any time.
The encirclement took shape in an instant.
In the center of the gorge, Qian Gu Fenfeng stepped forward slowly, holding the Coiling Dragon Staff horizontally in his hands. The pressure of his god-level physique gradually unfurled, bearing down heavily on this 480,000-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. The will of the Unyielding Staff Technique pulsed faintly within the ancient, unadorned staff.
Xiong Jun braced all four limbs against the ground, his sharp claws scoring five deep furrows into the rock. The edge of his Sky-Rending Claw tore through the night wind, and his furious roar thundered through the gorge. "Humans! You've broken your word!"
"A promise is merely a bargaining chip to postpone hostilities." Qian Gu Fenfeng's voice was calm, betraying neither joy nor anger. "I came here today only to capture you alive. I have no intention of taking your life immediately. Surrender, and you can spare yourself some suffering."
"In your dreams!"
Every strand of Xiong Jun's dark gold fur stood on end. Savage soul power exploded from him as his enormous body lunged forward, his incomparably sharp Sky-Rending Claw striking straight at Qian Gu Fenfeng, intent on tearing the humans' leader apart in a single blow.
Qian Gu Fenfeng turned his wrist, bringing the Coiling Dragon Staff up to meet him. The staff's tremendous force collided head-on with Xiong Jun's sharp claws.
Boom-!
A deafening crash erupted through the gorge. Shock waves swept outward, sending broken branches and shattered stones flying everywhere. That single staff strike actually drove Xiong Jun's massive body stumbling backward, his heavy footsteps stamping deep pits into the ground. Once he regained his footing, he discovered that his previously invincible bear claws had snapped. Blood spurted out without cease, and the heart-piercing pain of his injured digits relentlessly assaulted what few brain cells he possessed.
Only then did he truly understand that these powerful opponents before him had already spread a net across heaven and earth.
The instant the fierce battle erupted, thousands upon thousands of vines thrashed wildly deep in the distant forest. The Myriad Demon King sensed the violent soul power fluctuations from the gorge. A psychic shriek pierced the mountain forests, sending an urgent message toward the Lake of Life.
At the bottom of the lake, Di Tian's golden slit pupils snapped open. A dragon's might, black as an abyss, raced toward the northwestern gorge.
The savage shock waves still reverberated through the gorge. That staff strike had sent Xiong Jun's blood and energy surging, yet his ferocity had not diminished in the slightest. His dark gold claws tore through the air once more, layers of claw shadows blanketing the sky as they hammered toward Qian Gu Fenfeng.
"Obstinate fool! Kill him." Qian Gu Fenfeng gave the order, his expression indifferent.
Yuanen Zhentian stepped forward, unleashing the full power of his Titan Giant Ape bloodline. His burly body became a mountain as both fists hammered out, layer upon layer of earth soul power holding back Xiong Jun's frontal charge; Yuanen Tiandang channeled his soul power, and rocks on both sides of the gorge rose one after another, forming thick stone walls that cut off Xiong Jun's room to dodge sideways.
Yi Hongchen's Illusory Jade Golden Toad soul power surged. The burnished-gold mental illusion contracted sharply inward, layer upon layer of mental shackles coiling around Xiong Jun's soul, disrupting his judgment and causing frequent hitches between his attacks. Wang Hongchen seized an opening. His crimson-gold Blazing Golden Toad soul power formed several whips of force that wound precisely around Xiong Jun's limbs. Corrosive metallic soul power seeped through his fur, suppressing the beast soul power surging through his meridians.
Like a festering sore clinging to the bone, curse power climbed endlessly over Xiong Jun's body from the curse seals beneath the ground. Li Mengjie stood atop the cliff, her fingers constantly forming seals as she weakened this Ferocious Beast's deep reserves of soul power.
Xiong Jun roared again and again, his Sky-Rending Claw battering the barriers of the encirclement. Rocks split apart, and rubble rained from the gorge walls, but against several experts who stood at humanity's pinnacle, every charge only left him covered in wounds.
As the saying went, even a trapped beast would fight. Dragging his battered body, Xiong Jun managed to withstand this round of attacks.
Boom!
In the distant sea of trees, thousands upon thousands of enormous vines writhed wildly. The branches of the Myriad Demon King's massive true body rapidly approached the gorge, his dark green plant soul power blotting out half the night sky.
A thunderous rush, pitch-black and dragonlike, tore through the forest. Di Tian raced over from the Lake of Life, with Bi Ji beating her emerald wings close behind. The Scarlet King spewed fire from all three heads as he charged across the trees.
All five great Ferocious Beasts had reached the northwestern gorge.
Di Tian's enormous black dragon body hovered above the gorge. The dragon might of ultimate darkness crashed down, his golden slit pupils fixed on Qian Gu Fenfeng within the formation. His draconic voice carried towering fury.
"Qian Gu Fenfeng, you actually dared to break our agreement and lay an ambush!"
A great battle was about to erupt. Two terrifying forces faced each other across the gorge.
On one side stood Qian Gu Fenfeng and his powerful companions; on the other were Di Tian, Bi Ji, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King, bristling with killing intent.
With one hand resting on the upright Coiling Dragon Staff, Qian Gu Fenfeng raised his eyes toward Di Tian, who had arrived through the air. His expression showed not the slightest panic.
"The agreement was always meant to buy time."
The Myriad Demon King aimed countless vines at them like spears, his psychic killing intent spreading outward. "Humans, release Xiong Jun, or every one of you will leave your bones buried here today."
Bi Ji beat her wings anxiously, gently spreading her life soul power as she soothed the enraged Xiong Jun and urged both sides toward peace.
"Don't fight! Once the slaughter begins, rivers of blood will surely flow through Star Dou! Qian Gu Fenfeng, what exactly do you want?"
All three of the Scarlet King's heads roared at once. Fierce flames scorched the air, and he waited only for Di Tian's command to charge into battle.
Xiong Jun was still struggling wildly, roar after roar shaking the mountain forests,
Qian Gu Fenfeng slowly raised the Coiling Dragon Staff horizontally. Every dark gold pattern of the Unyielding Staff Technique lit up along its shaft.
Wind howled through the gorge, and fallen leaves whirled wildly. The last buffer between humans and soul beasts had already become as thin as a cicada's wing.
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